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OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 


Contemporary  Dramatists  Series 

HUGO  VON  HOFMANNSTHAL 
Death  and  the  Fool 

JOSE  ECHEGARAY 
The  Great  Galeoto 

AUGUST  STRINDBERG 
Advent 

MAXIM  GORKI 
The  Submerged 

JACINTO  BENAVENTE 
The  Smile  of  Mono  Lisa 

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RICHARD       G.       BADGER,       PUBLISHER 
THE   GORHAM    PRESS,   BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


Contemporary  Dramatists  Series 

THE  SMILE  OF 
MONA  LISA 

A    PLAY    IN    ONE    ACT 

JACINTO  BENAVENTE 

Translated  from  the  Spanish  by 
JOHN     ARMSTRONG     HERMAN 


BOSTON:   RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

TORONTO:    THE    COPP    CLARK   CO,,    LIMITED 


Copyright,  1915,  by  Richard  G.  Badgef 
All  Rights  Reserved 


Right  to  Dramatic  Representation,  copyrighted 
by  John  A.  Herman,  1912.  All  rights  thereto  re- 
served by  the  translator  by  authority  from  The 
Society  of  Spanish  Authors. 


THE  GORHAM  PRESS,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


TO. 
3435^5 

JACINTO  BENAVENTE 


572331 


JACINTO  BENAVENTE 


f^"  ~^HREE  names  shine  with  equal  luster, 
when  the  Spanish  drama  of  today  is 
considered.  They  are  the  names  of: — 

JL.  Jose  Echegaray,  Jacinto  Benavente  and 
Perez  Galdos.  All  three  dramatists  have  fertile 
pens.  Some  fifty  or  sixty  plays  have  been  published 
by  Echegaray  and  Benavente  and  Galdos'  work, 
including  his  drama  and  novels,  are  more  numerous. 
The  three  authors  have  European  recognition  and 
appreciation — their  dramas  having  appeared  in 
translated  editions  in  Holland,  Germany,  Italy  and 
other  European  countries. 

Benavente's  early  plays, — those  appearing  from 
1893  to  about  1903  were  generally  of  contempo- 
raneous life  and  often  dealt  with  social  foibles.  He 
is  satirical  at  times,  again  gay — rarely  serious — but 
whatever  the  play,  his  love  of  beauty,  his  brilliant 
imagery,  his  worship  of  art  for  art's  sake,  are  man- 
ifest. In  his  later  works  the  serious  play — some- 
times the  tragedy,  appear. 

In  a  preface  of  one  of  his  own  works  Benavente 
has  given  the  ideals  which  guide  him  in  his  lit- 
erary work. 

"Art  should  be  free,"  he  writes  in  substance, — 
5 


6  JACINTO  BENAVENTE 

"and  spontaneous;  yet  the  world  would  constrain 
art  by  dogmas  and  the  laws  of  convention.  Art 
is  a  spontaneous  realization  of  beauty;  this  senti- 
ment of  beauty  must  be  sincere."  He  says  further, 
— "In  art  you  laugh  at  names  and  schools;  all 
schools  are  good,  all  real  artists  strive  to  elevate 
man.  Don't  follow  precedents.  You  don't  break 
the  old  moulds  of  art  when  you  enlarge  your  vision 
and  enter  new  creative  fields."  Benavente  believes 
"in  the  goodness  of  great  beauty" — and  that  art 
is  "the  devine  nuptials  of  love  and  wisdom.  The 
artist,  the  sculptor,  the  poet  pictures  the  beauty  he 
sees."  This  recalls  Ruskin  who  answered  the  sail- 
or who  criticized  Ruskin  for  leaving  out  certain 
important  details  of  a  boat: —  "I  recognize  my  fault 
but  it  is  not  necessary  for  the  painter  to  give  every 
detail  of  the  boat,  but  to  depict  the  beauty  the 
painter  sees." 

"The  true  artist  must  fly  from  literary  precedents 
as  the  true  lover  must  eschew  the  letter  form  book 
and  write  the  dictates  of  his  heart  only,  to  the 
woman  he  loves.  Serene  inspiration  accomplishes 
the  best  in  art;  it  is  this  that  gives  distinction  to 
the  writer's  style,  elegance  to  his  diction ;  all  comes 
from  his  inner  vision." 

At  times  Benavente  fails  to  see  the  silver  lining 
to  the  cloud.  Like  the  English  poet  (Henley) — his 
characters  hold  that: — 


JACINTO  BENAVENTE  7 

"Life  is  a  smoke  that  curls — 

Curls  in  a  flickering  skein, 
That  winds  and  whisks  and  whirls 

A  figment  thin  and  vain. 
One  end  for  hut  and  hall ! 

One  end  for  cell  and  stall ! 
Burned  in  one  common  flame 

Are    wisdoms    and    insanities. 
For  this  alone  we  came: — 

O  Vanity  of  Vanities!" 

Again  the  puppets  of  the  stage  in  Benavente's 
dramas  are  happy,  hopeful  beings,  who  see  only  the 
blue  or  star  lit  sky.  Other  personages  have  moods 
as  average  mortals  and  are  dearer  to  us  for  that  very 
fraility.  He  strives  for  the  "culture  of  art,  for  art 
alone  and  disinterested  love  of  beauty." 

Benavente's  first  compositions  were  lyrical  poems; 
then  short  stories  and  novels — but  from  1893  his 
pen  has  been  busy  with  dramatic  work  only — the 
drama  of  the  Theatre.  In  his  dramas,  Teatro  Fem- 
inista,  Viaje  de  Instruction,  La  Sobresa-lienta  ap- 
pear little  poems  of  great  beauty.  Madrid  men  of 
letters  have  wished  that  Benavente  could  have  found 
time  to  have  cutlivated  lyric  poetry  more  generously. 
Many  of  his  shorter  poems  are  supremely  beautiful. 
Mis  Musas,  a  notable  lyric  in  a  volume  of  short 
poems,  has  been  hailed  by  critics  as  one  of  the  finest 


8  JACINTO  BENAVENTE 

lyrics  in  Spanish  literature. 

Since  Benavente  consecrated  his  life  to  the  thea- 
ter, in  addition  to  his  own  dramas,  he  has  trans- 
lated into  Spanish,  Moliere's  Don  Juan; — Shake- 
speare's Twelfth  Night; — Dumas'  Mademoilselle  de 
Belle  Isle; — Lytton's  Richelieu  and  Shakespeare's 
Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

Among  his  own  earlier  plays  the  best  are  "Gente 
Conocido"  (1896),  "La  Gata  de  Angora,"  (1901), 
"El  Primo  Roman"  (1901),  and  "Rosas  de  Otono," 

(1905). 

In  Gente  Conicido,  a  remarkable  contrast  is 
drawn  between  one  character  and  all  the  other  per- 
sons in  the  play: —  The  impoverished  daughter  of 
an  aristocrat  is  the  one  noble  redeeming  creature 
amidst  a  score  of  selfish  scheming  men  and  women. 

In  Sacrificios  a  soul  sacrifices  its  human  love  for 
its  love  of  beauty.  "The  Smile  of  Mona  Lisa"  de- 
picts Leonardo  da  Vinci  in  a  struggle  between  his 
love  of  women  and  his  love  of  art. 

La  Gata  de  Angora  is  a  tribute  almost  divine  of 
a  sister's  love  and  fealty  for  an  utterly  selfish,  but 
brilliant  brother. 

Many  of  Benavente's  later  plays  have  been 
received  with  great  applause  and  have  added  to  his 
fame.  In  a  notice  such  as  this  but  a  few  can  be 
mentioned.  Among  the  more  popular  are: —  For 
las  Nubes  (1909),  De  Cerca  (1909),  Los  Ojos  de 


JACINTO  BENAVENTE  9 

Muertos  (1907),  and  El  Principe  que  Todo  lo 
Aprendio  en  los  Libras  (1909). 

De  Cere  a  (At  close  Range)  is  a  one  act  play 
founded  on  the  theme  that  class  prejudice  between 
the  rich  and  the  poor  by  close  acquaintance,  disap- 
pears. An  automobile  breaks  down  and  the  rich 
man  and  his  frail  and  now  childless  wife  seek  shel- 
ter from  the  sun  in  the  humble  cottage  of  a  poor 
working  man.  The  cottagers  and  the  rich  man's 
wife  discover  on  better  acquaintance  that  the  joys 
and  sorrows  of  life  do  not  depend  so  much  upon 
wealth  as  on  health  and  the  happiness  that  children 
bring  to  a  home.  From  that  day  the  cottagers  cease 
to  envy  the  occupants  of  the  cars  as  they  pass  and 
from  time  to  time  little  remembrances  come  from 
the  rich  lady  to  the  cottagers'  child — for  "the  poor 
man's  child  was  so  like  the  rich  woman's  child  that 
has  gone  to  fairy  land." 

In  "Los  Ojos  de  Muertos,"  a  powerful  tragedy, 
Isabel  exclaims  to  a  great  pianist  and  artist: — 
"Sorrow  does  not  assail  your  soul  in  vain!  You 
say  you  cannot  be  an  artist  unless  you  have  suf- 
fered deeply.  Poor  devils!  Do  you  think  because 
the  artist  can  read  the  deep  meaning  of  a  sonata  of 
Beethoven's  he  is  thus  repaid  for  his  hours  of 
agony." 

El  Principe  que  todo  lo  Aprendio  en  los  Libros 


io  JACINTO  BENAVENTE 

(The  Prince  who  Learned  Everything  from  Books), 
is  a  beautiful  fairy  story  drama  for  children.  The 
ogres  and  good  enchantresses  are  all  of  human  form 
and  the  young  prince  learns  in  his  pilgrimage  that 
"We  ever  have  a  protecting  spirit  at  our  side ;  that 
we  can  if  we  will  make  those  about  us  happy  as 
well  as  ourselves;  and  that  we  must  dream  beauti- 
ful dreams  if  we  hope  to  accomplish  good,  beautiful 
deeds." 

In  Por  las  Nubes  the  fiance  and  her  lover  are 
both  members  of  old  families  of  Spain.  She  has 
refused  to  marry  him  and  accompany  him  to  a  dis- 
tant country  where  he  will  have  an  opportunity  to 
mend  the  family  fortunes.  She  would  wait  for  years 
— for  his  return — but — .  He  casts  her  aside  as  faith- 
less to  her  professed  love.  As  the  curtain  falls  the  lov- 
er receives:  the  benediction  of  a  virile  friend  who  trys 
to  assuage  the  lover's  grief  by  acclaiming  him  for 
declining  to  be  dependant  upon  his  parents  and 
recalling  to  the  lover  the  past  history  of  Spain 
whose  citizens  often  won  the  highest  honors  be- 
cause they  went  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  for 
achievement. 

Benavente's  dramatic  works  have  heretofore  been 
published  in  twenty  volumes.  In  1910  he  began  the 
publication  of  a  new  edition  of  his  works  and  a  quo- 
tation from  the  preface  of  the  first  volume  well  il- 
lustrates the  modesty  and  humility  of  this  man  of 


JACINTO  BENAVENTE  n 

genius  whom  his  nation  loves  and  revers ;  and  whose 
fame  has  travelled  far  beyond  his  native  land.  "In 
publishing  a  complete  edition  of  my  theatrical  works 
I  recall  with  no  slight  emotion  the  excitement  of  the 
first  night's  when  my  dramas  left  me — the  plays  I 
had  learned  to  love  because  their  creation  was  of 
my  very  life  and  my  travail;  like  the  sorrow  of 
the  father  who  has  disposed  by  will  of  his  pos- 
sessions and  wonders  what  the  future  has  in  store 
for  his  children — children  of  his  blood  and  very 
soul — when  the  father  shall  no  longer  be  with  them. 
I  love  art  above  everything,  but  I  deeply  realize, 
when  I  consider  my  creations,  that  my  infinite  love 
for  art  has  been  in  vain." 

Jacinto  Benavente  was  the  son  of  a  physician 
and  was  born  in  Madrid  the  i2th  day  of  August, 
1866.  After  a  course  at  college  he  began  the  study 
of  law  at  the  Central  University  in  Madrid.  He 
had  early  shown  a  strong  desire  to  follow  a  liter- 
ary course,  and  he  abandoned  his  study  of  the  law 
that  he  might  devote  his  whole  time  to  literature. 
Through  his  brilliant  talents  he  early  won  recog- 
nition, and  up  to  the  present  has  devoted  his  time 
solely  to  literature.  He  is  a  resident  of  Mad- 
rid, where  from  time  to  time  his  new  dramas 
are  welcomed  and  applauded  in  the  leading  theaters 
there.  This  dramatic  sketch,  "The  Smile  of  Mona 
Lisa,"  illustrates  in  a  few  pages  the  perfection  of 


12  JACINTO  BENAVENTE 

his  style;  his  wealth  of  imagery; — and  that  most 
important  element  in  literature — lucidity.  So  that 
he  who  runs  may  read  his  words  and  see  his 
thoughts. 

JOHN  ARMSTRONG  HERMAN. 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 


PERSONS  IN  THE  LITTLE  DRAMA. 

LEONARDO  DA  VINCI,  artist,  sculptor,  philosopher. 

ISMAEL,   a   Jew. 

FLORIO  AND  ANTONIO,  students  and  assistants  of 

Leonardo  da  Vinci. 
STELLO,  the  page  of  Mono  Lisa. 

PLACE 

The  studio  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  in  Florence. 

TIME 
About  1503. 


The  Smile  of  Mona  Lisa 

ISMAEL 

Well  met,  Antonio  and  Florio,  my  friends. 
ANTONIO 

Welcome  to  Florence,  Ismael. 

f 

i 

ISMAEL 

And  Leonardo,  youi   master? 
ANTONIO 

He'll  be  back  in  a  twinkling.  We  wait  him 
here.  He's  struggling  with  the  curious  mob  in 
the  streets  to  see  the  giraffe. 

ISMAEL 

The  animal  I  brought  from  Africa  as  a  present 
to  the  Magnifico!  And  you  haven't  seen  that  rare 
animal  ? 

15 


16         THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 
FLORID 

Curiosity  needs  good  humor  and  ease  of  mind, 
and  we  have  neither. 

ISMAEL 
Has  fortune  frowned? 

FLORIO 

She's  left  us  altogether.     Her  wheel's  bound  and 
we're  at  sixes  and  sevens  with  her. 

ANTONIO 

That's   the  worst   of   it.      Tranquil ity   dampens 
the  wheel  as  it  does  our  spirits  and  we  are  rusty. 

ISMAEL 

Hasn't  your   great   master  prospered?     I   know 
your  fate  is  bound  up  in  his. 

FLORIO 

How  could   he  prosper  if  all  the  world  assists 
and  he  turns  away?    His  great  works  are  heralded 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA         17 

on  the  winds — works  that  would  give  any  other 
painter  ease  and  fame,  but  Leonardo  has  risen  to 
boundless  extravagance  and  gives  little  attention  to 
the  commissions  confided  to  him.  The  leading  citi- 
zens are  offended  and  are  learning  to  detest  Leon- 
ardo, so  that  our  master  has  come  to  such  need  of 
money  that  before  long  he'll  be  the  laughing  stock 
and  scorn  of  Florence. 

ISMAEL 

Strange  predicament  for  the  great  painter,  sculp- 
tor, mechanician,  musician,  astronomer,  philosopher, 
— this  man  of  universal  genius — worried  and  har- 
rassed  for  money  in  spite  of  all  his  brave  protectors. 
I  see  extravagance  all  about  me.  These  galleries 
where  disorder  reigned;  here  where  sculptors,  ar- 
chitects, craftsmen,  chemists,  painters  wrought;  here 
where  the  confusion  of  effort  was  everywhere,  now 
surprise  me  by  their  quiet  luxury  and  elegance. 
Priceless  tapestries,  musical  instruments,  rare  fruits 
and  flowers  arranged  with  exquisite  taste  as  if  Flora 
and  Pomona  were  offering  gifts  to  pagan  altars. 

FLORIO 

It  may  well  seem  to  you  the  adoration  of  a  deity, 
but  they're  only  offerings  to  a  human  deity. 


i8         THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 

ISMAEL 

And  is  Leonardo  in  love? 
FLORIO 

In  love?  Was  there  ever  a  time  when  he  was 
not  in  love?  Every  hour  and  every  day  is  love  for 
Leonardo.  The  roses  of  Bengal,  the  crimson  carna- 
tions, are  his  love.  Swans  floating  on  the  lake  in 
his  gardens  are  his  love.  His  capricious  Berber 
horse  is  his  love.  The  poisonous  asps  that  guard 
his  sanctum  there  are  his  love.  The  golden  apples 
from  the  tree  he  cultivates  are  his  love.  They  say, 
Ismael,  the  sap  of  that  tree  so  subtly  flows,  that 
if  you  but  taste  the  golden  fruit,  death  will  come 
naturally  and  peacefully  and  no  chemist  may  find  a 
vestige  of  poison  in  fruit,  in  tree,  or  in  the  stilled 
veins  of  the  dead.  Every  form  of  beauty  appeals  to 
Leonardo — roses  that  weigh  the  zephyrs  with  their 
perfume;  birds  that  thrill  the  zephyrs  with  their 
song;  asps  that  cleave  the  zephyrs  with  their  poison- 
ous tongues.  Leonardo  da  Vinci  worships  beauty 
everywhere — in  the  swift  flight  of  birds — in  the 
graceful  undulations  of  asps — reptiles  evoked  from 
the  blue  Nile  of  mysterious  Egypt.  Egypt  which 
strove  to  immortalize  death  in  its  mummies.  Egypt, 
where  divine  Cleopatra,  woman  among  women, 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA         19 

learned  a  lesson  from  the  serpent — not  as  her  moth- 
er, Eve,  the  lesson  of  good  and  evil — but  learned 
the  beautiful  art  of  loving  and  dying. 

ISMAEL 

Are  you  all  pagans — stark  mad — mad  as  Leon- 
ardo! 

ANTONIO 

Don't  deprive  us  of  our  reason  and  we'll  teach 
you  to  lend  with  profit. 

ISMAEL 

In  your  unbelief,  Christians  still!  Why  do  you 
speak  of  me  with  scorn? 

ANTONIO 

Scorn!    Never!    You  are  a  generous  Jew. 
ISMAEL 

You've  learned  the  lesson  of  love  but  poorly 
from  your  Master.  Do  you  forget  the  times  I 
helped  Leonardo  when  no  advantage  came  to  me. 


20        THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 
FLORIO 

But  Ismael — if  you've  gained  little,  you've  lost 
nothing — for  you  stand  high  in  the  estimation  of 
Leonardo. 

ISMAEI. 

But  Leonardo  loves  everything— even  the  asps 
there. 

ANTONIO 

Why  not?  Little  cares  Leonardo  for  canting 
virtues.  But  your  face  and  figure,  Ismael!  What 
a  splendid  example  of  your  race!  Who  can  tell? 
Some  day  Leonardo  may  ask  you  to  be  his  model  for 
a  masterpiece.  Could  you  hope  for  greater  glory? 

ISMAEL 

I  a  model  for  a  pagan  artist!  Every  one  who 
praised  it  would  be  excommunicated  by  your  church! 

ANTONIO 

Leonardo's  masterpiece  would  be  supremely  beau- 
tiful, it  would  move  all  hearts  to  love. 


It  would  be  superhuman  to  move  the  hearts  of 
your  magistrates  and  ecclesiastics  to  just  treatment 
or  my  race.  (Enter  LEONARDO.)  Good  day  Leon- 
ardo. 

FLORIO 
Good  day,  Master. 

LEONARDO 

Good  day  to  all.  Welcome,  Ismael!  I've  heard 
of  your  return  to  Florence.  I  see  you've  not  forgot- 
ten Leonardo. 

ISMAEL 
Even  though  your  assistants  treat  me  with  disdain ! 

LEONARDO 
Disdain ! 

ANTONIO 
He  called  us  pagans  and  unbelievers. 


22         THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 
LEONARDO 

Unbelievers!  That  might  offend.  But  pagans, 
never.  Paganism  is  the  religion  of  beauty.  We 
artists  make  beauty  our  deity.  All  love  and  un- 
derstand beauty. 

All  religions  should  teach  beauty. 

ISMAEL 

From  whence  have  you  come,  Leonardo? 
LEONARDO 

Perhaps  from  as  distant  a  land  as  you,  but  of  late 
I've  been  in  Florence.  Just  now?  From  admiring 
the  giraffe.  The  animal  with  the  beautiful  eyes 
is  the  attraction  of  the  city.  Our  Duke  is  never 
miserly  with  his  treasures  and  he  never  bargains 
when  it  comes  to  a  spectacle  for  the  people.  We  can 
pardon  him  for  many  things  for  that.  He  gave 
Florence  a  chance  to  see  your  giraffe.  I  saw  the 
white  hands  of  gentle  ladies  steal  through  blinds  to 
offer  to  the  animal,  midst  their  fears  and  laughter, 
bits  of  delicacies.  Whence  came  the  animal?  It 
must  have  taken  skill  and  care  to  bring  it  here  alive 
and  well. 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA         23 

ISMAEL 

True,  Leonardo.  It  was  my  most  costly  gift  to 
the  magnifico.  It's  death  would  have  been  bank- 
ruptcy for  me. 

LEONARDO 
From   what  land? 

ISMAEL 

From  Africa  by  way  of  Egypt  and  Arabia.  I've 
brought  surpassingly  beautiful  treasures  too,  which 
I've  set  aside  for  Leonardo. 

LEONARDO 

A  bad  time,  Ismael.  All  the  credit  I  might  have 
now  wouldn't  pay  for  one  of  them.  I'm  afraid  even 
to  look  at  them. 

ISMAEL 
If  you'll  accept  them  I'm  fully  paid. 

LEONARDO 
Generous — too  generous,  Ismael. 


24         THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 
FLORID 

He  knows,  Leonardo,  that  sooner  or  later  he'll 
have  them  back  again  and  their  value  will  be  multi- 
plied because  you  had  possession  of  them. 

ISMAEL 

(To  FLORIO.)  Discourteous  and  narrow  minded 
as  ever. 

LEONARDO 

You  are  right,  good  Ismael.  They  have  niggard- 
ly spirits  who  do  not  possess  the  supreme  art  of 
leaving  themselves  be  deceived.  I  know  that  you 
flatter — but  I  know  if  you  did  not,  you  would  still 
tell  the  same  tale,  because  Leonardo  da  Vinci  well 
deserves  all  that  even  his  flatterers  say. 

ISMAEL 

What  fine  pride,  Leonardo !  Never  have  I  seen 
such  pride  before! 

LEONARDO 

It's  because  I've  looked  oftener  at  my  inner  self 
than  those  around  me.  I  know  my  littleness.  I'm 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA         25 

sure  that  your  giraffe  never  thought  himself  so  high 
among  the  stately  palms  that  margin  his  native 
desert,  as  to  day,  when  he  towers  above  the  citizens 
of  Florence  who  crowd  the  streets  to  admire  him. 

ISMAEL 

True!  But  you  should  be  proud,  Leonardo.  You 
are  first  among  the  great  artists  of  Italy.  Why  do 
these  highwaymen,  (To  FLORIO  and  ANTONIO), 
why  do  you  believe,  I  flatter!  When  I,  ignoring  prin- 
ces, even  the  great  Duke  himself,  offer  to  you  the 
treasures  I  have  brought  from  Arabia  and  other 
lands, — because  no  one  is  as  worthy  as  you  to  possess 
them.  Now  that  you've  transformed  your  studio 
with  such  exquisite  decorations,  my  silks  from  Da- 
mascus will  look  well  here.  The  Persian  tapestries 
too.  And  the  chests  of  sandal -wood  and  the  caskets 
of  marble  and  mother  of  pearl  with  their  little 
secret  hidden  drawers,  made  for  those  who  traffic 
in  love  and  jealousy,  as  they  tell  me  you  do  now. 

LEONARDO 

You've  heard  this  senseless  babble  of  Florence 
too!  Or  have  Florio  and  Antonio,  my  students 
here — 


26        THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 

ISMAEL 

No,  Leonardo.  I  had  but  to  see  your  studio — 
to  see  the  commanding  height  of  your  person.  Only 
love's  magic  can  make  such  transformations.  Be- 
sides have  you  not  painted  twenty  masterpieces  that 
commend  my  veneration? 

LEONARDO 
Masterpieces?    Apprentice  work. 

ISMAEL 
Which  was  your  best? 

LEONARDO 

Best?  My  insatiate  desire  for  perfection  makes 
me  discontented  with  my  work.  I  know  I  could 
secure  boundless  wealth  and  fame  if  I  strove  for  the 
applause  of  the  vulgar.  It's  so  easy  to  deceive  the 
vulgar.  But  Leonardo  only  works  for  Leonardo. 

ISMABL 

Your  model  must  be  a  person  of  quality  when  you 
thus  adorn  your  studio  to  receive  her. 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA         27 
LEONARDO 

You  don't  know  ?  It's  the  portrait  of  Mona  Lisa, 
wife  of  Signore  Francisco  da  Giocondo. 

ISMAEL 

His  wife!! 

LEONARDO 

Yes,  Mona  Lisa.    Why  are  you  surprised? 
ISMAEL 

Because  you've  given  preference  to  her  among  so 
many  more  surpassingly  beautiful  women. 

LEONARDO 

But  the  others  are  not  mysteries.  Are  not  their 
lives,  their  little  histories  well  known?  The  pe- 
culiarities of  the  noble  lord  of  this  lady;  the  pat- 
rician beauty  of  that  lady;  the  perversity  of  this 
Signorina;  the  banalities  of  almost  all  of  them. 
Any  artist  could  paint  their  portraits.  But  Mona 
Lisa!  No,  Mona  Lisa  is  different — Mona  Lisa  is 
an  enigma.  Many  people  judge  her  the  most  virtu- 


28         THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 

ous  woman  in  Florence;  others  think  her  capable 
of  deception.  Who  would  dare  confirm  either 
rumor. 

ISMAEL 

And  you?    You  have  eyes  and  ears? 
LEONARDO 

But  in  the  presence  of  Mona  Lisa  they  are  blind 
and  deaf.  Today,  I  imagine  I've  discovered  the 
enigma — when  painting  her.  Tomorrow  she  is  an- 
other person.  Ah!  The  smile — that  smile.  Is  it 
her  soul !  It  is  the  despair  of  my  art. 

ISMAEL 

But  you've  only  finished  the  background  of  the 
portrait!  Why  the  sea  there?  Perhaps  Mona  Lisa 
never  sailed  a  sea.  Florence  has  no  sea. 

LEONARDO 

What  better  background  for  the  portrait  of  a 
woman  who  smiles?  Is  there  anything  more  like 
the  sea  than  the  smile  of  a  woman?  You  say  the 
sea  smiles;  and  you  sail  on  its  bosom.  You  say  a 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA         29 

woman  smiles;  you  would  discover  her  heart;  and 
the  smile  of  the  sea  is  not  more  uncertain  than  her 
smile.      Do   you    think   this   is   but   a   portrait — a 
family  portrait — that  friends  perchance  come  to  see; 
to  consider  whether  it  is  the  same  face,  whether  the 
mantilla  has  graceful  folds;  whether  it  is  her  little 
dog  at  her  feet?     I  know  that  before  my  portrait 
of  Mona  Lisa,  her  distinguished  husband  Prince  da 
Giocondo  would  frown.     He  would  view  it  from 
near — then  from  afar.     In  this  light — and  in  that. 
He  would  shade  his  eyes  with  his  hands  now — again 
he  would  pull   the  shades  to  lessen  the  light;  he 
would  turn  his  head  this  way  and  then  that,  until 
his  authorized  opinion  would  fall  like  lead!     "Yes, 
yes,"  he  would  say: — "It  is  my  wife — but  some- 
thing is  wrong.     The  expression  is  not  hers.     You 
don't  see  her  as  I  do  at  all  hours.     Lady  Gioconda 
is   grave,   not  smiling."     And   Mona  Lisa  would 
say;  "Yes,  it  is  I,  but  I  appear  older.     The  gown 
is  not  mine.    Its  fabric  seems  too  rich."     But  what 
does  it  matter?     When  neither  Francisco  da  Gio- 
condo, nor  Mona  Lisa,  nor  Leonardo  exist,  when 
the  memory  of  our  fame  is  dead,  people  before  my 
portrait  will  ask: — "What  an  enigma?     Here's  a 
woman  of  mystery,  this  woman  who  smiles.     Is  the 
smile  divine  or  evil  ?    Is  it  the  smile  of  love  fortified 
in  chastity  or  is  it  the  smile  of  wicked  perversity; 
was  her  life  unselfish — were  her  thoughts  impure? 


jo        THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 

Who  can  tell?"  And  amidst  their  doubts  they  will 
say  that  Leonardo  did  more  than  paint  the  portrait 
of  Mona  Lisa — for  he  painted  a  soul  that  smiles 
with  hidden,  elusive  meaning. 

FLORIO 

Master!  The  servant  of  Mona  Lisa  asks  permis- 
sion to  speak  to  you  in  the  name  of  his  mistress. 

LEONARDO 
Tell  him  to  come  in.     (Enter  STELLO.) 

STELLO 
Good   day,   Signore  Leonardo. 

LEONARDO 

Good  day,  gentle  page.  From  your  mistress? 
Doubtless  to  excuse  herself  from  posing  for  her 
portrait  to-day? 

STELLO 

I  cannot  tell,  Signore.  You  will  find  my  mis- 
tress' message  in  this  letter.  I'm  to  await  your 
answer. 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA        31 
LEONARDO 

(After  reading  the  letter.}  Oh,  ho!  Witty 
letter!  Listen,  friends.  For  then  you'll  surely  be- 
lieve that  I'm  in  love.  (Reads.)  "To  the  Famous 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Greeting:  Pardon  me  if  I  find 
it  imposible  to-day  to  assist  you  at  the  studio.  My 
portrait  on  which  you  now  have  been  working  for 
more  than  two  years  without  making  much  progress, 
has  lately  become  the  theme  of  the  scandal  mongers 
of  the  city,  and  my  husband,  although  he  has  both 
profound  respect  and  confidence  in  you  and  me,  is 
annoyed.  Of  all  unfortunate  things,  the  most  un- 
fortunate for  me  would  be  that  you  should  never 
finish  my  portrait.  While  I  cannot  be  present  again, 
I  send  you  my  gown  and  ornaments  and  my  page, 
Stello,  whom  all  people  insist  is  a  perfect  image  of 
myself.  You  can  tell  me  in  your  answer  whether 
the  likeness  is  perfect.  If  my  page  resembles  me, 
as  much  as  is  believed,  finish  my  portrait,  from  the 
copy,  and  if  our  features  in  any  respect  differ,  your 
imagination  can  well  supply  the  difference  from 
memory.  You  have  studied  my  face  and  expression 
so  long  I  feel  sure  my  presence  will  be  unneces- 
sary. At  worst  you  can  recall  my  own  likeness." 
(To  his  friends.)  What  do  you  say  to  that? 


32         THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 
FLORIO 

The  little  page  is  the  living  image  of  his  mis- 
tress! 

ANTONIO 

They  are  as  like  as   two  peas! 
LEONARDO 

(To  the  page.}  You've  heard  your  mistress'  let- 
ter. You  shall  be  my  model. 

STELLO 
How,  signore! 

LEONARDO 
Antonio,  Florio,  show  Stello  the  model's  room. 

ANTONIO 

( To  the  page. )  Come.  Leonardo  will  carry  out 
the  fancy  of  your  mistress.  (Exeunt  ANTONIO, 
FLORIO  and  STELLO) 


THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA         33 

ISMAEL 

And  you  surround  your  working  hours  with  mus- 
icians and  singers? 

LEONARDO 

With  everything  that  may  make  Mona  Lisa 
happy  so  that  she  may  smile  forever.  Everything 
in  sight  and  sound  to  please;  soft  music;  the  rain- 
bow in  the  leaping  fountain;  melodious  birds;  little 
dogs  in  gleeful  play;  the  serious  mien  of  grotesque 
apes — and  last  but  best  of  all  my  love  to  which 
she  ever  hopes  to  give  a  mortal  wound — be- 
cause she  shall  not  know  that  Leonardo  never 
loved  a  woman  more  than  he  loves  art.  (ANTONIO, 
FLORIO  return  with  STELLO  clothed  as  a  woman  in 
the  suit  of  Mona  Lisa  as  seen  in  the  well  known 
painting,  La  Gioconda.) 

FLORIO 
Here's  Mona  Lise,  Leonardo. 

LEONARDO 

i 

(In  surprise,  to  the  page.}     You! 


34         THE  SMILE  OF  MONA  LISA 

ANTONIO 

Is  not  the  likeness  wonderful? 
FLORIO 

Who  would  dare  say — this  is  not  Mona  Lisa 
herself? 

LEONARDO 

Stello!  Mona  Lisa!  Who  are  you?  Speak! 
What  does  it  matter?  Smile  as  she  smiles.  Never 
till  to-day  have  I  understood  the  enigma  of  a 
woman's  soul.  Smile — that  Leonardo  may  give  your 
smile  immortality.  (Soft  sweet  music,  almost  in- 
audible, ripples  the  perfumed  air.  LEONARDO,  with 
palette  and  brush,  goes  to  the  portrait.) 


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